On October 13, we hosted IFF Pension Fund's first English-language Pension Cafe. The Pension Cafe is a series of theme meetings of the pension fund. By dealing with a specific pension theme each time, we want to meet the various information needs of different groups of participants who build up a pension with us. This year, the subject was pensions abroad.
For the first time, we organized the Pension Café in webinar format, which was a positive experience as far as we are concerned. The interest was great. Approximately 40 participants followed the webinar to its conclusion. Did you follow the webinar? You may not have been able to ask your question due to the issue with the chat function. You can still ask it at iffpensioenfonds@blueskygroup.nl.
Did you not attend the webinar? Then please watch the video summary.
Frequently asked questions about retirement abroad
It is important that you always inform us about your place of residence. It is most convenient if you keep a Dutch bank account to avoid possible transfer problems in the future.
Moving abroad: How do I keep the pension fund informed regarding marriage, divorce, children, other changes, etc after moving abroad?
Report your move abroad to the pension fund and discuss the consequences. Request information about the consequences for the AOW from the Social Insurance Bank.
As long as the pension fund is aware of the participant's details (address), they will be informed by the pension fund in the usual way. So there is no difference with someone who lives in the Netherlands. For a Dutch resident the pension fund receives the address details and information on (the end of) a marriage/registered partnership directly via the BRP (Personal Records Database). A participant who lives abroad must provide the information to the pension fund him/herself.
The pension fund is in principle obliged to cooperate in a value transfer from within the EU. For a value transfer from outside the EU, there is in principle also cooperation but the obligation does not apply. Value transfers to and from the UK are not included. If the transferring administrator imposes (additional) requirements, it will be assessed whether it is possible to cooperate in the value transfer.
For the commencement of the pension, the regulations and the member's choice(s) are followed. The pension payment takes place in the same way. The deductions do differ. A participant can, depending on the country of residence, apply for an exemption from the tax authorities. If the pension fund has to transfer the payment to a foreign bank account and costs are incurred for this, these are at the participant's expense. Payments will only be made in euros.
For partner and orphan's pensions, the same applies abroad as in the Netherlands. Partner and any children must apply for a Dutch BSN at the time of payment.
In the case of international value transfer, the tax authorities can grant tax exemption if:
- you have a statement from your Dutch pension institution or De Nederlandsche Bank, showing that you may transfer your Dutch pension to a pension institution in another country.
- You have worked outside the Netherlands for at least 5 consecutive years.
Your new pension institution in the country where you work agrees to the transfer of your Dutch pension to them.
